Former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani has been featured on the cover story of Society Magazine. On the sidelines of the event in Mumbai today, he spoke on the failure of Julie 2, which he distributed, and the current CBFC row around Deepika Padukone starrer Padmavati, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

When asked if he was satisfied with the box office collection of Julie 2, Nihalani said, “No no, not at all! It was a disaster. There has been no cost cover up either.”

Pahlaj Nihalani had distributed actor Raai Lakshmi starrer Julie 2, an erotic thriller which failed to lure the audience to watch it. Nihalani was also asked about his take on the whole Padmavati controversy, specifically about its issue with the CBFC. Nihalani, who was the former chair before Prasoon Joshi took over, highlighted the fact that the committee members must be under tremendous pressure.

He said, “Definitely, Padmavati should have received the certificate, because today there is a lot of influence, and pressure on the CBFC and every committee member. Today, we are only reading about Padmavati, people are talking about Padmavati over lunch, dinner and even before going to sleep at night. Padmavati today, has gone in our veins. It is being written about in every paper. I think it will influence all committee members, and they will open their eyes with a different mindset.”

“So, I think it is very sad, they (CBFC) should have taken the call earlier and certified the film according to the background, and what the people are saying – right or wrong. They (CBFC) should have given the certificate on that or rejected the certificate on that (basis),” he added.